Let's Get Growing!

"Wherever the truth is injured, defend it. You are there on that spot within hearing of that word, within sight of that action, as a Witness, to the end that you should speak for it." Ralph Waldo Emerson, March 28, 1834

Minnesota has more problems than it deserves, more solutions than it applies, and more truth than it defends.

We are standing on the threshold of a new awakening in the public consciousness about the need for dramatic change. You know our economic system is rigged. You know our political system is rigged. You know we are facing the global catastrophe of climate change. But we don’t have to stand by helplessly. We don't have to suffer economically, tolerate candidate bribery or live in a world without a sustainable future. We don't have to live in poverty anymore; without education, without health care and without hope. As Alfred, Lord Tennyson once wrote, "Come my friends, Tis not too late to seek a newer world." We can create the world anew and that is what this campaign is all about. Let us come together as patriots to restore our rights, reform our laws, and reveal to a doubting world what Minnesota still can be.

Why am I running?

Thirty-two years ago, I started my political activism as a founding member of the Grassroots Party and Minnesota NORML to legalize cannabis. Nine states have legalized cannabis, but, contrary to popular belief, it is not an accomplished fact. As an activist who has organized nearly 40 annual rallies and marches; ran for Congress in 1988 (CD-5); ran for Governor in 1998—while battling for the constitutional rights of farmers and gardeners in Minnesota's highest courts; ran again for Governor in 2010 and 2014; along with working on countless other campaigns for office along the way, and yet, we barely have a right to medical marijuana. That has to change.

Far from being a single-issue candidate, I’ve grown in my studies, knowledge and wisdom about issues and policies that are extremely important to Minnesotans. In contrast, my opponents address issues and policies superficially. Where are their plans for addressing the root causes of income and wealth inequality? Let’s see their plans for addressing candidate bribery, climate change, economic development, health care fraud, and reining in administrative bloat at our universities. Where are they?

The two-party spoilers of our economic system, environment and social policies are not entitled to spoil the future of Minnesota anymore. We have a moral duty to address the real issues facing Minnesota and that is why I am running.